Japanese literature

Kamakura period (1192–1333)

The warfare of the 12th century brought to undisputed power military men (samurai) whose new regime was based on martial discipline. Though the samurai expressed respect for the old culture, some of them even studying tanka composition with the Kyōto masters, the capital of the country moved to Kamakura. The lowered position of women under this feudalistic government perhaps explains the noticeable diminution in the importance of writings by court ladies; indeed, there was hardly a woman writer of distinction between the 13th and 19th centuries. The court ... (100 of 15,177 words)

Nise-e of Minamoto Kintada, one of the 36 poets, from a handscroll by Fujiwara Nobuzane, …